Chapter 626: Sage of Six Paths: I Keep Feeling Like the Way You Look at Me Is Strange

Chapter 626: Chapter 626: Sage of Six Paths: I Keep Feeling Like the Way You Look at Me Is Strange

Chapter 626: Sage of Six Paths: I Keep Feeling Like the Way You Look at Me Is Strange

"After all, Mother came to this world together with Isshiki."

Hagoromo spoke calmly.

Kenichi had no idea what Hagoromo was thinking, and he did not bother asking.

Instead, another question occupied his mind.

Had he really become that much stronger?

Or was Isshiki simply too weak when facing Kaguya?

Why did this battle feel completely devoid of pressure?

Kenichi even felt that Isshiki’s performance was less shocking than the surprise Jiraiya had given him earlier.

He looked toward the battlefield.

Isshiki was already in a miserable state, and the space available for him to maneuver was becoming smaller and smaller.

Several times, whenever Isshiki attempted to use some technique, Kaguya immediately dragged him into another dimension.

Each time, Isshiki barely managed to escape, looking increasingly disheveled.

At this point, there was almost nothing left of the arrogance one would expect from an Otsutsuki.

No wonder Isshiki had spent all these years avoiding Kaguya.

"Why do I suddenly feel like I finally reached the final boss, only to discover that the final boss isn’t even as troublesome as some of the enemies I fought along the way?"

Kenichi shook his head helplessly.

He watched Isshiki flee awkwardly beneath Kaguya’s relentless attacks.

In front of her, Isshiki practically had no ability to fight back.

Kenichi stared at Kaguya with a trace of confusion.

If she was this overwhelming...

Then what had been the point of gathering so many people and preparing for so long?

But after thinking about it carefully, Kenichi realized it was not that strange.

Kaguya had once traveled together with Isshiki.

She knew him extremely well.

His habits.

His abilities.

His way of fighting.

She could often predict what he intended to do before he even did it.

That naturally gave her an enormous advantage.

"I really didn’t expect Kaguya to be this overwhelming."

Kenichi glanced toward Hagoromo.

"Hagoromo, what do you think all our preparations were even for?"

"I’m starting to feel like we don’t need to interfere at all."

"Kaguya could probably deal with Isshiki by herself."

Kenichi was relaxed enough to casually chat during the battle.

Hagoromo rolled his eyes.

Still, he could not exactly disagree.

He had never known Isshiki existed before Kenichi exposed the truth.

Naturally, Hagoromo had never known the details of Isshiki’s condition or how he compared with Kaguya.

He certainly had not expected his mother to beat Isshiki into such a miserable state.

"Instead of worrying about whether all our preparations were unnecessary, I think you should worry about what you’re going to do about Mother afterward."

Hagoromo gave Kenichi a meaningful look.

"After all, she seems to have quite a large grievance against you."

Kenichi rolled his eyes.

He had not expected things to develop this way either.

Of course he was concerned about what would happen after Isshiki was defeated.

But judging from Kaguya’s previous attitude toward him, Kenichi felt he still had a small chance.

Kaguya’s situation was unusual.

Yet precisely because of what had happened earlier, Kenichi believed the memories he had implanted had clearly affected her.

If Kaguya truly felt nothing toward him whatsoever, she would not have reacted the way she had.

So perhaps...

One day he really could make Hagoromo call him Father.

Thinking about it that way was strangely exciting.

Besides, unlike certain versions of Kaguya’s story from the anime, the Kaguya standing before him had never married anyone.

Her circumstances were extraordinarily unusual.

She had children despite never marrying.

More precisely, she had children without ever experiencing conventional human reproduction at all.

So what exactly did that make Hagoromo and Hamura?

"To be honest, I’m not particularly worried about that."

Kenichi smiled at Hagoromo.

"The situation isn’t so outrageous that it can’t be understood."

"I think anything is possible."

He paused.

"Compared with that, I think you should be more concerned about something else."

"What are you planning to do about your relationship with Kaguya once Isshiki is dealt with?"

Hagoromo’s expression immediately became unnatural.

Although he was already dead, his relationship with his mother had always been one of the things that troubled him most.

He had opposed Kaguya’s view of the Shinobi World.

That disagreement had ultimately driven him and Hamura to seal her.

Even now, Hagoromo still believed that decision had been necessary.

But after speaking with Kaguya again and interacting with her after her release...

His feelings had become more complicated.

At this point, Hagoromo no longer particularly wanted to seal his mother away again.

"Kenichi."

Hagoromo looked at him sincerely.

"Do you have any good ideas?"

"To be honest, I really don’t know how I should deal with the relationship between Mother and me."

"Even now, I still feel conflicted."

Kenichi felt slightly uncomfortable.

Hagoromo suddenly becoming so sincere made the conversation strangely awkward.

Still, Kenichi quickly adjusted.

He understood why Hagoromo was asking him.

The situation between Hagoromo and Kaguya was indeed complicated.

But it was not necessarily impossible to resolve.

Kaguya should still possess some feelings toward her children.

Though strictly speaking, even calling Hagoromo and Hamura her children in the ordinary human sense was not completely accurate.

Their circumstances were simply too unusual.

Meanwhile, the battle grew increasingly fierce.

Kaguya and Isshiki continued their life-and-death struggle.

Isshiki was clearly unwilling to remain suppressed by Kaguya.

At some point, he seemed to release some kind of restriction on himself, and his attacks suddenly became much stronger.

Their figures continuously shifted through the air, changing positions with extraordinary speed.

Every movement flowed seamlessly into the next.

Kaguya relied on her agile movement and unpredictable techniques to attack Isshiki relentlessly.

Isshiki answered with overwhelming physical power and terrifying ninjutsu.

Kaguya’s figure suddenly vanished as though she had dissolved into the darkness.

When she reappeared, a blade formed from lightning was already in her hand, thrusting directly toward Isshiki.

Isshiki immediately shrank himself.

At the same time, an invisible force surrounded his body and blocked the lightning blade.

Countless Truth-Seeking Orbs then appeared around him.

A strange mass of power gathered between his hands.

It resembled a patch of bottomless darkness.

The next moment, that power expanded violently.

The Truth-Seeking Orbs spread across the battlefield.

The surrounding land was instantly riddled with holes.

The earth shook.

Rocks shattered.

The other shinobi were forced backward by the violent energy fluctuations.

Kaguya refused to yield.

With a violent sweep of her hand, raging winds gathered together.

The air condensed into an enormous sphere of wind, almost resembling a tornado compressed into a single attack, and shot toward Isshiki.

Isshiki did not dare underestimate it.

He activated the Truth-Seeking Orbs again and shattered the incoming wind sphere.

Even so, the remaining force slammed into him.

For the first time, visible pressure appeared on his face.

The battle continued escalating.

Ninjutsu collided endlessly.

Energy flashed.

Lightning tore across the sky.

The aftermath alone destroyed everything around them.

The ground cracked beneath the force of their attacks.

For one brief moment, Kenichi almost thought he could see the air itself splitting apart beneath the shockwaves created by their clash.

The other shinobi could only retreat and watch from a distance.

What they saw gave them hope.

And despair.

It was a battle unlike anything most of them had ever witnessed.

The power displayed by Kaguya and Isshiki had reached a level beyond ordinary comprehension.

Hiruzen stood among the shinobi still waiting for Kenichi’s orders.

Despair flickered in his eyes.

Was the difference between shinobi really this enormous?

Why had they even come here?

In a battle like this, was there truly anything they could contribute?

Kakashi remained silent nearby.

His fists tightened.

He had once believed his own strength was respectable.

But after witnessing these monsters fight with his own eyes, Kakashi finally understood how weak he truly was by comparison.

Like a child watching adults fight.

Even so, Kakashi did not become discouraged.

Whatever happened, he would continue following his own ninja way.

He would become strong enough to protect the people precious to him.

But for now...

All he could do was watch.

"Kaguya Otsutsuki!"

Isshiki suddenly roared in fury.

"You lowly woman!"

"You will never understand where the true power of the Otsutsuki Clan comes from!"

He charged toward Kaguya.

At that exact moment, Kenichi moved.

The Rinnegan in his eyes activated.

Countless positively charged particles were deconstructed and instantly reorganized around Isshiki.

Dark clouds rapidly gathered overhead.

They spread like an enormous black curtain across the wilderness.

Thunder rolled through the sky.

The air became hot and oppressively heavy.

Then...

A brilliant flash erupted inside the clouds.

It resembled an enormous eye opening in the heavens and staring down at the earth.

Power accumulated.

Lightning twisted through the darkness like countless enormous serpents.

Silver arcs danced wildly between heaven and earth.

They constantly shifted direction as though searching for somewhere to release their fury.

Then, in an instant...

Every bolt converged.

All of that destructive power rushed toward the same target.

Isshiki’s pupils contracted.

He looked upward.

Faced with the descending lightning, he had no choice but to divert part of his attention toward defending himself.

Kaguya naturally refused to waste that opportunity.

The instant the lightning descended...

All-Killing Ash Bones pierced through Isshiki’s body.

Isshiki stiffened.

Blood sprayed from his mouth.

Kaguya did not stop.

Several more All-Killing Ash Bones shot forward.

They pierced through his head.

His heart.

His body froze completely.

Then...

Isshiki crumbled into powder.

Kenichi stared blankly.

That was it?

The enemy who had troubled him for so long...

Had just died?

Wasn’t that a little too sudden?

"Isshiki Otsutsuki."

Kaguya’s cold voice echoed across the battlefield.

"Come out."

Silence.

Nothing moved.

Kenichi frowned.

Could Isshiki really be dead?

But judging from Kaguya’s cold, vigilant expression, Kenichi doubted it.

If Isshiki had truly died, she would not still be this guarded.

They waited.

Still nothing.

Eventually, Kaguya seemed to lose patience.

She took a breath.

Then pure chakra flowed from her hands and fell onto the ground.

The chakra spread outward like ripples across water, sweeping through the surrounding area.

Soon, it wrapped around a patch of grass.

As though forcing something hidden within it to reveal itself.

Kenichi immediately looked over.

His Rinnegan analyzed the area.

Grass.

Soil.

The ordinary microscopic structures he expected to find.

And something else.

A large and extraordinarily complicated mass of atomic structures was moving rapidly through the area.

Whatever it was, it could not escape.

It could only move upward.

Then...

A ruined figure emerged.

Isshiki.

His body was in terrible condition.

Holes covered him from head to toe.

Blood coated large portions of his body.

He looked barely recognizable compared with his previous appearance.

Kenichi glanced toward Kaguya.

Her expression remained completely cold.

Killing intent filled her eyes.

It seemed Kaguya really had failed to master many of the more unusual techniques belonging to the Otsutsuki Clan.

Otherwise, perhaps Isshiki would never have been able to escape even this far.

Isshiki stared at her and coughed up another mouthful of blood.

"Kaguya..."

A mocking smile appeared on his face.

"You really want me dead that badly?"

Kaguya said nothing.

The answer hardly needed words.

Both of them had probably spent years wishing the other would disappear forever.

Then, almost too softly for anyone to hear, Kaguya whispered something.

"I only wanted to survive."

Her voice was barely audible.

The words disappeared into the wind before anyone could clearly hear them.

Then Kaguya raised her hand.

Countless black receivers shot from her sleeves and flew toward Isshiki.

Kenichi took a deep breath.

His hands formed seals.

"Sage Art: Wood Release!"

Countless wooden hands erupted from the earth beneath Isshiki.

They surged upward and seized his body.

For one brief instant...

Isshiki’s movements stopped.

....

https://discord.gg/KvMN2CFsMR

[If you don’t want to wait for the next update, read 50 Chapters ahead on P@treon.]

[[email protected]/FanficLord03].